NEW YORK (CWNews.com) - A former Republican US
representative entered the New York Senate race on Monday,
saying he would seek the nomination from the Conservative,
Right to Life, and Independence parties on the November
ballot.

Joseph DioGuardi's announcement puts him in direct conflict
with New York City mayor Rudolph Guiliani who would also
need those parties' nominations, in addition to the
Republican party nomination, to fend off Hillary Rodham
Clinton, the presumptive candidate for the Democratic
Party. Conservative Party leader Michael Long has already
refused to back Giuliani because of the mayor's support for
abortion.

DioGuardi said he entered the race because Guiliani doesn't
uphold conservative principles. "It's not that Giuliani
isn't conservative enough; he's not conservative at all,"
DioGuardi said. He also said he wasn't worried about the
other two candidates' lead in raising funds. "They need a
lot more money than me," DioGuardi said. "They have to
disguise who they are. She has to disguise that she comes
from Arkansas, he has to disguise that he believes in
'partial-birth' abortions."

"Right now, they're popping the champagne corks at Clinton
campaign headquarters," said GOP consultant and television
commentator Jay Severin told Associated Press. "You could
almost run a dead body on the Conservative line and attract
enough votes to defeat the Republican candidate." The
Guiliani-Clinton race is a statistical tie in recent polls
and the small-party endorsements could mean the margin of
victory.